Disbarred lawyer faces new charges

Disbarred and jailed former Quincy attorney Bruce Namenson has been indicted on a new round of charges, this time for allegedly participating in a complex real estate scheme that netted the perpetrators more than $2 million.

During a Tuesday morning press conference, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that Namenson and five others have been indicted on a host of larceny and fraud charges for what she described as a “Ponzi scheme of real estate.”

The scheme centered around a company called Boston Equity Investments, or BEI, whose principals — Joshua Brown, 29, of Brockton, Brian Frank, 32, of New Hartford, N.Y., and John Sweetland, 28, of Yorba Linda, Calif. — told potential investors that BEI would help them invest in the Boston real estate market, Coakley said.

BEI would tell the investors that the company would help them buy multi-family homes, renovate them and resell them, Coakley said. But when BEI bought the properties, it created inflated appraisals and told lenders that it was buying the homes for more than the company actually paid, pocketing the difference, according to the indictment.

The scheme affected 26 properties and involved roughly $12.5 million in loans.

Coakley said the alleged scheme came to light when investigators were combing through Namenson’s files. As they followed the paper trail, she said, they uncovered a complex scam.

Namenson, 47, is currently serving a five-year jail sentence for motor vehicle insurance fraud, larceny and several other crimes. He was disbarred in 2008.

In the new case, he is charged with 18 counts of larceny over $250, nine counts of making or publishing false or exaggerated statements, and four counts of false written reports by a public officer or employee.

Also charged in the case:
Brown and Frank, both of BEI, are each charged with 78 counts of larceny over $250, 26 counts of making or publishing false or exaggerated statements, and two counts of attempting to make or publish a false or exaggerated statement.

Sweetland, of BEI, with 33 counts of larceny over $250, 11 counts of making or publishing false or exaggerated statements, and three counts of attempting to make or publish a false or exaggerated statement.

Brian Arrington, 39, a Boston mortgage broker, with 24 counts of larceny over $250, 13 counts of making a false or exaggerated statement, two counts of attempting to make or publish a false or exaggerated statement, and one count of larceny over $250.

Linda DeFeo, 28, a Springfield mortgage broker, with 10 counts of larceny over $250, six counts of making a false or exaggerated statement, and one count of attempted larceny over $250.